Affairs of the Heart
by miss37
Summary: Mac and his team discover a murder victim that is very similar to a victim that another Detective has found. They team up to discover who the murderer is before he kills again.


Mac Taylor was on his way to a crime scene. It was a little after 10 AM and he was glad it was not 2 AM. He was at the office when he got this call. He usually got calls in the middle of the night and had to drag himself out of bed and go to the crime scene, but last night he got to stay in bed. He arrived at the crime scene which was a hotel room. Don Flack was standing in the lobby waiting for him when he arrived. "Morning, Mac," he said. "I guess we didn't have to get up before the sun or the chickens this time."

"I guess not," Mac replied. "What have we got?"

"Up on the twelfth floor."

They got into the elevator and went up to the twelfth floor where Danny was already there taking pictures of the scene. "Morning, Mac," he said.

"Morning," Mac replied. "How did you get here so fast?"

"I wasn't in the office yet when the call came through."

Don opened his notepad. "This young woman is twenty-four years old," he said. "Her name is Maria Perez. She works for a boutique here in Manhattan. New York driver's license, no priors."

Mac squatted beside the victim when Danny was done taking pictures. The victim was lying in a tub on her back under the water, but she was wearing a red negligee with black lace around the edges. "Well, she didn't drown accidentally," he said. He looked at the victim's hands. "Doesn't look like she has anything under her nails. From the way she was dressed, I would guess she was expecting someone."

Danny sniffed the air. "Perfumed water too," he said.

"Her nails are done, makeup. She must have been expecting someone special."

"Things must not have gone the way she expected."

"I would say not."

Mac looked at Don. "Did anyone hear anything?" he asked.

"Nobody that I've talked to," Don replied.

"He probably just held her under there."

"She's a petite woman. It wouldn't be hard for a man to overpower her."

Mac nodded. "Maybe she was having an affair with a married man or she wanted to break off the relationship."

"A crime of passion."

"Who found this body?"

"The maid. She came in and there she was."

"Let's get the body out of the water and see what we can find."

The ME got the body out of the water and then Mac and Danny got a closer look. "He held her down by the neck," Mac said as he looked at the bruises on the woman's neck.

"The bruises aren't very big," Danny pointed out. "Maybe we're looking for a small guy."

"Could be."

Mac wrote in his notepad. "Doesn't look like she was sexually assaulted," he said.

"Probably not," Danny agreed. "She was most likely waiting on the person who killed her."

Mac stood up and wrote in his notepad again. Then he and Danny began searching the room. They stood and looked at the bed which had satin bed sheets and comforter and was covered in rose petals. "Well, she was definitely waiting for someone," Danny said and took pictures of the bed.

"Question is: what happened when he got here," Mac said.

"They obviously didn't start in the bedroom."

When they were done with the hotel room, they went back to the lab. Mac sat at his desk and wrote on his report. He thought about that young woman who was killed. She was only about five feet tall. He thought the person who killed her must have had a power issue or was just angry because she wanted to break off the affair.

Mac finished his report of events so far and then headed for the morgue. Danny stepped in beside him as he was on his way to the elevator. "Going to the old morgue, huh?" Danny asked.

"Yes," Mac answered. "Although I don't think Sid is going to find anything that we don't already know."

"Can't hurt to check."

They went down to the morgue where Sid was already done with the body. "Hello," Sid said.

"Hello, Sid," Mac replied. "You got anything to tell us?"

"Not much. Her windpipe was crushed but she had water in her lungs too. No signs of sexual assault or sexual activity but I did a swab anyway." He gave Mac the swab. "There are bruises on her neck where she was most likely strangled…by someone with small hands, I would add."

"Anything else?"

"No."

"Thanks, Sid."

Mac and Danny went back up to the lab. Mac registered the swab that Sid had given him and then gave it to Lindsay to analyze. "We need all the information we can get on this woman," Mac said. "We'll start at that boutique that she works at."

"Can we get something to eat on the way?" Danny asked.

"Sure. I could use some lunch myself."

"Good. I don't usually get to eat when I'm with anyone else."

"Well, since Jo is out with the flu, I guess it's just you and me today until Sheldon shows up."

"Okay, you can be Hopalong Cassidy and I'll be Mesquite Jenkins."

Mac looked at Danny with a puzzled look. Danny laughed. "Lindsay has been making me read Westerns," he said. "They're quite interesting once you get started."

"Oh. I like Westerns."

"You?"

"Yes, me. I like to get a good Western once in a while and read it."

"When do you have time to read?"

"When I have a day off, sometimes I just sit and read or lay on the sofa and read."

Danny shook his head. "I never picture you doing anything like relaxing."

Mac smiled as they got into the elevator. "Everybody needs to relax sometimes," he said. "I've learned that over the last few years."

"I think Jo tries to get everybody to relax."

"She does."

Mac and Danny went out to the Avalanche and headed out. "So where are we eating?" Danny asked. "Let's go and get something that's really bad for us, like pizza."

Mac chuckled at that. "I don't think pizza's so bad for you," he said. "I wouldn't mind eating it myself."

"Great."

Mac stopped at a pizzeria and they went inside. It was not too crowded so they got a table and placed their order. "What do you think about this case, Mac?" Danny asked.

Mac considered that a moment as he sipped his glass of water. "Probably an affair gone bad," he said. "That's what I think."

"At first, I thought maybe she wanted to end the affair and he got angry, but you know it could have been the other way around."

Mac nodded. "He could have wanted to end the affair and then she threatened to tell his wife?"

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

"I'm sure we'll find out as we get further into this."

Danny leaned back in his chair. "I'm just curious," he said. "I think I have always been curious since I was a kid."

"I know I was."

Danny leaned on the table again. "Why do people do all this?" he asked. "I mean, why not just stay with their spouse and be happy?"

"I don't know," Mac replied. "I was happy with Claire."

"I'm happy with Lindsay too." Danny shook his head. "I never knew what anything was until I met Lindsay. I think I loved her from the beginning."

"You probably did."

Soon, their pizza arrived and they started eating. "I read about this boutique," Danny said with a mouth full of pizza. "They sell clothes and all kinds of beauty products and it has a beauty salon too."

"I guess they can get them a new dress and get all fixed up all in one store," Mac remarked.

"Must be nice. I don't think there are any barber shops like that."

Mac rolled his eyes. "I don't think men think about getting their hair done when they're going somewhere special."

"Especially when they have hair like you or me. You know, we just gel it down and leave it that way."

"I don't even need gel."

"How did we get in this conversation?"

"You started it."

Mac took another bite of his pizza and sat there thinking about the case. He knew the crime had to be a crime of passion because of the way it was carried out, and he did not believe it was because the woman wanted to break off the affair because she was dressed in a negligee. It was obvious to him that she had been waiting for the guy to come to the hotel room. He just had to figure out what happened after that and who did it.

When they were done eating, they went on over to the Sassy Boutique. Danny looked at Mac as they were about to go in. "You think it looks weird for us to be going into a women's boutique?" Danny asked.

"Why would it look weird?" Mac asked. "Maybe you're going to buy something for Lindsay."

Mac shook his head and went on into the boutique. They were bombarded by all sorts of smells from the beauty salon which was there in the boutique. It smelled like perms, roses, cocoa butter and other beauty products. Mac thought it smelled the way his bathroom used to smell except for the perm smell.

Mac walked over to the counter where a woman was sitting and reading a "Beauty" magazine. "Hi," she said. "Welcome to the Sassy Boutique. Can I help you?"

Mac showed her his badge. "Did you know a woman named Maria Perez?" he asked.

"Of course I know her, but she's not here today," the woman said. "My name is Carly. Can I help you?"

"When was the last time you saw Maria?"

The woman thought a moment. "Yesterday afternoon. She left around four. Why?"

"She was murdered last night."

Carly gasped. "Murdered?" she asked. "How?"

"Ma'am, did she say anything about a man she was seeing?"

Carly thought a moment. She was shocked. "Uhm, yes, she talked about a guy she was dating, but I never met him."

"He never came here to the boutique?"

"Not that I know of."

"Did he ever pick her up outside?"

"I don't know. I'm not usually here at closing time."

"Who's the manager?"

"That would be Melanie. She's back there at the nail area."

"Thanks, and I'm sorry about your friend."

Mac and Danny walked back to the nail area which definitely smelled like nail polish and acrylic. There was a woman there who had definitely had her hair styled and bleached. It was platinum blond and had brown and red streaks in it and it was in one of those styles that was short in the back and long on the sides. "Hi," she said with a smiled. "Can I help you?"

"We're looking for Melanie," Mac said.

"That would be me, Darling. What can I do for you?"

Mac showed her his badge. "I'm sorry to have to tell you that one of your employees, Maria Perez was murdered last night."

Melanie's mouth dropped open and she looked shocked. "Murdered?" she asked.

"Yes. We need to ask you some questions if you don't mind."

"Like what?"

"Did Maria say anything to you about a man she was dating?" Mac asked.

"She had mentioned a guy, but she didn't tell me his name."

"Did you ever see him?"

"No, but he did pick her up one night that she was working late. She said they were going to have a date that night."

"What did she tell you about him?" Mac asked.

"I think he was a lawyer or something, and I think he was married."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, the way she talked and they always met at hotels."

Mac wrote that down. "Did she say she was having a date last night?" he asked.

"Yes, I believe she did."

"Did she say where they were meeting?"

"At the Paradise Inn."

"That was where she was murdered."

Mac wrote in his notepad again. "Did she ever say anything about any problems she was having with him?" he asked.

"No," Melanie said. "She just mostly talked about how much she loved him and how she couldn't wait to be with him again. That's why I thought he must be married, cause you know, if you're that in love you're going to be together as much as possible."

Mac nodded. "Thanks."

Mac and Danny left the boutique. "What do you think?" Danny asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Mac replied. "We were obviously right about him going there to meet the woman and he must have wanted to end the affair and she threatened to tell and he killed her. It had to be something like that. And Melanie in there said that she thought he was a lawyer or something."

"Right," Danny said. "I guess we should look into Miss Perez's business."

"That's our next issue."

Mac and Danny got into the Avalanche and went back to the lab. When Mac walked in, he realized there was someone standing in his office. Lindsay came around the corner of the hallway. "There's a Detective Robert Goren here to see you," Lindsay said.

"Goren?" Mac asked.

"Yes. He says he's from Major Case."

"Well, I guess I'll go see what he wants."

Mac went on to his office. Detective Goren was very tall, at least 6'5" tall and he had dark curly hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a black trench coat and he had a leather file case in his arm. He was wearing a gray suit and a tie and he was looking at Mac's pictures. Mac walked in. "Hi," he said. "I'm Detective Taylor."

Detective Goren turned and shook hands with Mac. "I'm Detective Goren," he said. "I think we have a case in common."

"And what case is that?"

Detective Goren opened his file case and held it so Mac could see it. "Two nights ago, this victim was found murdered," he said. "Her name is Felicia Randle. She was twenty-six years old, and it was thought that she was having an affair with a married man. She was five feet one inch tall, and she was strangled and left at a hotel much like your victim that you found last night."

Mac scowled as he looked at Goren's read out and the picture of the victim. He got his pictures of his own victim out and compared the bruises on the necks of the victims. "You're right," he said. "Those bruise marks are definitely alike."

"You have to realize that the two women are similar in size, and they were both killed at a hotel," Goren pointed out. "I believe both our victims may have been killed by the same person."

Mac had to admit they were similar. "You think this guy was having affairs with several women?" he asked.

"You never know. I think it's possible, and they are very petite women. I think maybe we're looking for a small guy. He likes petite women to make him feel big."

Mac thought that was possible but it was not iron-clad. "We've found out that our victim was having an affair with an attorney," he said. "She had talked about him to one of her co-workers at the boutique she worked for."

"My victim worked at a jewelry store," Goren said. "Maybe he likes women who work for beauty places like this."

"You could be right." Mac looked up at Goren. "Question is: how many more women does he have out there? And is he planning to kill them too?"

"Maybe he's cleaning house, trying to clean up his act."

"We better figure this out fast."


End file.
